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Home-field locked up, but Yanks' work not done

Home-field locked up, but Yanks' work not done

Joe Girardi watches from the dugout during Monday's game against the Reds.

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NEW YORK -- The Yankees weren't staying up late on Saturday to watch the final pitches of the Orioles' 6-5 win over the Tigers, though it did carry implications they are quite pleased with.

Detroit's loss, coupled with New York's 9-1 victory over the Red Sox on Saturday, secured home-field advantage throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs for the Yankees.

"It's something that we worked very hard for during the course of the season, and it's nice because I've always said that our club is built around our ballpark," manager Joe Girardi said.

"We're still going to go out and play hard. It's not going to change my approach, in a sense, but we'll be smart with guys these last four days."

There was evidence of that in Girardi's lineup for the first game of Sunday's split-admission doubleheader, as Jorge Posada batted cleanup and the batting order featured starts by Chris Dickerson, Brandon Laird and Ramiro Pena.

"I've said all along that I'm not taking my foot off the gas," Girardi said. "I want our guys playing well. I'm not going to abuse guys, but I said going into this week, this was a big week and it's been a big week for us. This week's not over."

At worst, the Yankees would finish tied with the Rangers for the AL's best record. The Yankees were 7-2 against Texas this year.